Salvatore A Angelella

A Prototype Jfacc: General George C. Kenney Salvatore A Angelella

Publisher Marketing: With the down-sizing of our current military force structure, military and civilian leaders are searching for ways to ensure unity of effort during military operations. For air operations, the USAF claims that a Joint Force Air Component Commander (JFACC) is the best concept to ensure this unity of effort. One man they frequently cite as the prototypical JFACC is General George C. Kenney in his role as General MacArthur's air commander in the Southwest Pacific during World War II. Most of these discussions centers around Kenney's initial actions in 1942 and 1943. This paper discusses Kenney's role as a prototype JFACC after June 1944, when the Joint Chiefs of Staff reorganized the Southwest Pacific Area of Operations (SWPA) and assigned to Kenney air forces from the US Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, as well as air forces from Australia and New Zealand. Many accounts of the Battles for Leyte and Luzon center around ground and naval forces, giving the impression that "the Air Force also flew." In fact, Kenney's Far East Air Force (FEAF) was flying combat missions that were instrumental to these campaigns in the Philippines. By examining certain planning, execution, and doctrinal criteria, this paper seeks to determine whether unity of effort was achieved in the SWPA. Then it aims to measure General Kenney against responsibilities of the JFACC as outlined in the Air Force's JFACC Primer. If unity of effort was achieved and General Kenney fulfilled the responsibilities, then there may be some lessons for today's JFACC.